Project Charter

 

Purpose

 

The purpose of this deliverable is to prepare and get a approved project charter, which defines the key elements that gives overall direction to the project team for the SAP system implementation. It also describes the business issues and project requirements at a high-level. This is the core project document, which defines all key elements of the project such as:

 

·         Objectives

·         Scope

·         Timeline

·         Participants

·         Team organization

·         Risks

·         Issue management

 

It is a collection of key outputs that together define the boundaries of the project, and how it will be delivered. Sometimes also called the Project Initiation Document (PID) in other methodologies.

 

How should it be produced

 

Most of the outputs within this deliverable are produced from Project Preparation activities and tasks. Typically, this content builds on previous work done as part of the pre-sales or project proposal stages. This deliverable and its outputs must be kept up to date using a valid change control process, as changes to project scope, timeline and/or budget are likely as the project progresses.

 

It is produced primarily by project management to clearly define what they have to achieve, why, how, with who and by when. It must be signed off by the steering committee, to show agreement and understanding of the project and what they will be getting for their investment. It should be communicated to the project team and affected organization by the Project Kick-Off.

 

What if it is not done

 

If this critical deliverable does not exist, the project management team lack the ability to control the project and steer it to a successful go-live, as there is no reference to what was agreed at the outset. Scope, timeline or budget cannot be controlled/defended if they are not clearly defined - many serious problems on projects are the direct result of lack of clarity in these critical areas, as defined here in the Project Charter.

 

Source of Input (Deliverable/Other)

Input

 

Enterprise Strategic Framework

·         (All deliverable outputs)

Discovery and Evaluation Documents

·         Discovery and Evaluation Documents (Solution Strategy

Business Case

·         Business Case (from CSS)

Pre-sales documents, ITT’s, RFP’s, sales proposals etc.

 

 

Outputs

 

Refer to the breakdown of the deliverable in the roadmap structure

 

Additional Information

 

The Project Charter is a foundation for the planning, execution and controlling processes of the project. It is based on the work done prior to the project; any changes to this document should be done as per the change control process. Creation and maintenance of the Project Charter is essential to successfully begin the project, then maintain sense of purpose and direction throughout.